Retractable footrest mechanism

ABSTRACT

A retractable footrest for reclining chairs supported upon a pair of parallel rails movable endwise on the chair, forward to extend the footrest and backward to retract. The rails are tubular to house the operating link that rotates the footrest on the rail ends to present its supporting surface upwardly, and are supported from the seat and guided by a forward fulcrum roller and a guide track which confines and directs a roller on the rear end of the rail. Extension and retraction of the rails is by a drive linkage that magnifies a limited rotation to produce a large linear movement.

Elie States Patent 1191 Johnson et a1.

1 RETRACTABLE FOOTREST MECHANISM [75] Inventors: Carl B. Johnson; HenryJames, both [21] Appl. No.: 374,486

[52] 11.8. C1 297/84, 297/69, 297/430 [51] int. Cl. A47c l/02, A6lg15/00 [58] Field of Search 297/68, 69, 271, 429-432,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,151,099 8/1915 Greilick297/430 1,951,793 3/1904 Herman 297/68 2,875,814 3/1959 Schliephacke297/84 2,936,819 5/1960 Dubeck 297/84 2,936,819 5/1960 Dubeck 297/84Mar. 4, 1975 3,295.885 1/1967 Barksdale 297/84 3,295,885 l/1967Barksdale 2.97/84 3,325,210 6/1967 Knabausch.... 297/69 3,370,884 2/1968Rogers 297/68 Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Fitch Even Tabin & Luedeka [57] ABSTRACT A retractable footrest forreclining chairs supported upon a pair of parallel rails movable endwiseon the chair, forward to extend the footrest and backward to retract.The rails are tubular to house the operating link that rotates thefootrest on the: rail ends to present its supporting surface upwardly,and are supported from the seat and guided by a forward fulcrum rollerand a guide track which confines and directs a roller on the rear end ofthe rail. Extension and retraction of the rails is by a drive linkagethat magnifies a limited rotation to produce a large linear movement.

14 Claims, 11 Drawing; Figures lllllmllmlll PATENIED 3. 869 l 6 9 sum 1er 4 MECHANISM Our invention relates to an extensible and retractablefootrest for reclining chairs, and more particularly to mechanism forsupporting a footrest on a chair body for movement from a stowedposition, where it may serve as the front board of the chair, to anextended forward position for supporting the outstretched legs of theoccupant above the floor.

The footrests commonly used in reclining chairs, and in combinationso-called rocker-recliners, quite commonly employ scissors, or lazytong, linkages to provide the considerable extension that is required tosupport the footrest sufficiently forwardly of the chair to perform itsfunction. This has been particularly true as styling demands haverequired that the body of the chair be elevated somewhat above thefloor, thus limiting not only the height of the front board, which inturn becomes the supporting surface of the footrest, but also limitingthe amount of available space in which to stow the operating mechanismbeneath the chair seat.

Lazy tongs or scissors linkages, while adequate for the purpose, havecertain disadvantages which are overcome in the present invention. Themultiplicity of operating pivot joints in a lazy tong linkage aremultiple points for wear, and, in time, after much usage, the footrestsupported on sucha linkage becomes loose and floppy when extended, andwhen stowed does The difficulties encountered with extension mechanismsof the above-described type are obviated in the footrest extensionmechanism of the present invention, in which the footrest is supportedupon a pair of rails which are extended and retracted in an essentiallyendwise movement by a suitable driving mechanism. The rails are formedto house a linkage for adjusting the angularity of the frontboard-footrest as the same is extended, and. the support for the railsis further adjusted to change the effective angularity of the footrestfurther as the chair is reclined.

The invention .is described in detail in the accompanying specificationin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is asomewhat fanciful isometric illustration of a rocker-reclinerequipped with our footrest, showing the clean lines of its simple railsupports'and also showing diagrammatically how the load on the extendedfootrest is borne in the chair;

FIG. 1 A is a sideview of the footrest and the outer end of the nearextension rail, showing-their stowed relationship in full line and theirrelationship when extended by broken line;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of our footrest extension mechanism asapplied to a rocker-recliner chair;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 to betterillustrate the track by which the movement of the back end of eachextension rail is supported during its movement forwardly and rearwardlyof the chair;

FIG. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2, depicting the mounting ofone of the drivinglinks of the extension mechanism, which when fittedfor handle operation becomes the driving lever for the extension of thefootrest;

FIG. 5 is a section taken on the line 55 of FIG. 2 to better illustratethe mounting of the front one of the two driving links, its attachmentto, and the support of, the cross-shaft which extends to similar linkageon the opposite side of the chair to unify the forward and rearwardmovement of the extension mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a section taken on the line 6--6 of FIG. 2 to illustrate inmore detail the front support for each extension rail; and

FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are diagrammatic illustrations of the linkage ofFIG. 2 shown respectively in the fully retracted position of thefootrest for orientation with the detailed showing of FIG. 2, and,thereafter, in an intermediate position, in fully extended position,and, lastly,

in a further adjusted position of even greater angularity to the seatoccasioned both by the elevation of the front of the seat and thelowering of the front support of the extension rails conjointly with thereclining of the chair.

By way of summary at the outset, the footrest extension and supportmechanism of thezinvention comprises a pair of spaced parallel rails orbeams 10 which are supported from the underside of the seat of areclining chair, and are driven from the fully retracted position tofull extension by linkage which is likewise suspended from the seat ofthe chair. The footrest 12 itself, which serves as the front panel ofthe chair when retracted, is pivotally mounted on the front ends of therails 10, which are preferably tubular not only for greater beamstrength but, also for purpose of housing and concealing an adjustinglink 14 by means of which the angularity of the footrest 12 is adjustedcoincident with its extension' to its functional position forwardly ofthe chair seat.

The pair of supporting rails 10, one on each side of the chair, aredriven by identical operating linkages 16 only one of which isspecifically illustrated in FIG. 2, but whose counterpart will beunderstood to be its mirror image. The two linkages 16 are connectedtogether for movement in unison by a cross-shaft 18 which extendstransversely of the chair, is supported for rotation in the seat brackethardware 20 and to which one member of the linkage 16 at either side ofthe chair is attached as an arm. In FIG, 2, the cross-shaft 18 isillustrated as connecting the pair of forward drive links 22 at oppositesides of the chair so as not to present an obstacle to resilientdeflection of the seat cushion by the occupants weight.

As indicated by FIG. 2, and also by the diagrammatical illustrations 7to 10 inclusive, the invention is illustrated in connection with alinkage 16 which is extended to the forward position by a hand lever 24,i.e., by action independent of a relative motion of other parts of thechair. As is well understood in this art, however, the footrest l2coulclalso be extended as an incident to movement of theseat relative toany of the other chair parts as, for example, relative to the rockerportion of a rocker-recliner to achieve footrest extension in the moreor less upright sitting position referred to as the TV positionillustrated in FIG. 1. In another setting, it could be extended byreclining motion of the back of the chair relative to the seat. In suchinstances, driving force or torque could be applied to activatetheextension and retracting linkage at any convenient point,,such.as,for example, to another arm (not shown) connected to the cross shaft 18.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-to 6 of the drawings for a more detaileddescription of our-footrest extension mechanism 16, the same, aspreviously noted, is suspended from a bracket 20 affixed to theunderside of the cushioned chair seat. In the present case, the bracket20 is also that which supports the seat for relative movement withrespect to the rocker element 26 of a rocker .base 28 as indicated inFIG. 1, being supported thereon by means of suitable linkage 30 such,for example, as that disclosed in our co-pending application Ser. No.374,355 filed June 28, 1973 to which reference may be made for moredetailed illustration. We wish it to be understood, however, that ourfootrest extension mechanism 16 is not confined in its application toonly that seat support mechanism 30 shown here in part and in detail inour above-mentioned copending application, but may be utilized with anyreclining chair mechanism that offers either the possibility ofhand-lever. operation-of the linkage 16, or operation thereof bymovementof the seat or back relative to another portion of the chair.

To avoid obscuring the footrest extension linkage 16, we show only aportion of the actual seat-support mechanism 30 of our co-pendingapplication, in particular, the forward support link 32 pivoted at itsupper end to seat bracket 20 and at its lower end to a base bracket 34of angle iron secured by screws 36, as indicated, to the rocker element26 of the rocking base. It is contemplated, in any event, that,utilizing the aforesaid seat-support mechanism 30, the reclining motionof the back of the chair is accompanied by a forward motion of the chairseat relative to the rocker. element 26, and, as will be appreciatedfrom the inclination of the front seat support link 32, by a rather fastrising of the front of the chair seat. This may be seen by comparingFIGS. 9 and 10. Neither the forward nor the upward movement of the seatbracket 20 is necessary to the operation of the linkage l6 insofar asthe extension of the footrest 12 to its forward supporting position iscon-' cerned. However, we prefer to provide a further adjustment of theattitude of the footrest relative to the seat as the back is reclined,and, inasmuch as the back and seat move conjointly during the recline ofthe back, we conveniently make that final further adjustment of thefootrest 12 by utilizing the rotation of the main support link 32 forthe seat.

Referring still to FIGS. 2 to 6 inclusive for the details of theconstruction, it may be noted that the footrest 12 is secured to amounting bracket 38 pivoted at the front end of the rail'or beam whichis approximately coextensive in length with the front-to-reardimensionof the seat bracket 20. Each rail 10 is tubular, andrectangular of cross section, with its greater cross-sectional dimensionupright. At its front end, the rail is supported on a roller 40 which inturn is supported by a pair of parallel links 42 suspended from the seatbracket 20. The position of the link-supported front roller 40 isdetermined by a link-rod 44 extending rearwardly and pivoted to thefront support link 32 of the seat. As the seat support link 32 isrotated to elevate the seat bracket 20, the seat support link 32 rotatesrearwardly of the seat 4 the front supporting roller rearwardly,andslightly downwardly, with respect to the seat bracket 20.

At its rear end, each rail 10 is provided with an upstanding bracket 46which supports a guide roller 48 positioned in a channel-shaped track 50secured to, and facing outwardly from, the seat bracket 20. As the rail10 is moved forward and back in the extension and retraction movement,the guide roller 48 remains confined in its track 50 and transfers tothe seat bracket 20 the upward thrust occasioned by loads exertedgenerally downwardly on the footrest.

The linkage 16 for extending and retracting the rails 10 includes, atthe forward end of the seat bracket 20, the drive link 22 which, aspreviously noted, is fixed as an arm to the cross shaft 18. Spacedrearwardly is yet another drive link 52, likewise pivoted to the seatbracket 20, and assuming an attitude approximately parallel with theforward drive link 22 when the mechanism is in the fully retractedposition. The two links 22 and 52 are connected for movement in unisonby an upper connecting link 54.

Secured to the rearward drive link 52 at its end remote from the seatbracket 20 is a rock lever 56, the forward end of which is pivoted to alower restraining link 58 which extends forwardly and is pivoted to theend of the front drive link 22 at its end remote from the cross shaft18. The rear end of the rock lever 56 is pivoted to a short drag link60, which in turn is pivoted to the rail 10 on a shoulder rivet 62 whichalso serves to stake the guide-roller bracket 46 to the back end of therail 10.

In the illustrated case, the rear link 52 serves as the driver, havingconnected thereto an operating handle 24 accessible to the occupant ofthe chair on the outsideof the arm thereof. For the sake of functionalillustration, the handle is shown in FIG. 2 in broken outline as anextension across the center of rotation of the rearward drive link 52,and it will be understood that for such purpose, the hand lever 24,being on the outside of the chair arm, and the linkage mechanism 16being concealed inwardly thereof, a suitable short shaft (not shown) isprovided to connect the handle lever 24 and the drive link 52 along orclose to their common axes of rotation, such detail being omitted inFIG. 1 for sake of clarity.

In any event, when the rearward drive link 52 moves forwardly relativeto the seat bracket 20, whether driven by the aforesaid handle lever 24or otherwise, it rotates the forward drive link 22 through the upperconnecting link 54 and simultaneously rotates the similar linkage on theopposite side of the chair through the cross shaft 18 to which the frontdrive links 22 of both linkages are secured.

As the two drive links 52 and 22 rotate forwardly and downwardly,the-rock lever 56 mounted at the lower end of the rear drive link'52,guided by the lower restraining link 58, rotates forwardly (clockwise inFIG. 2) at an accelerated pace relative to the seat bracket 20, andthrough a path of movement such that its rearward end rises onlyslightly above the level shown in FIG. 2. The forward motion of the rocklever 56, being in turn transmitted to the extension rail 10 at itsrearward end through the drag link 60, propels the footrest 12 forwardlyfrom its stowed position, snugged to the bracket 20 and, through thecontrol link-rod 44, draws front of the chair, to its extended position,ready to support the feet or legs of the occupant.

The footrest l2 proper, as earlier indicated, is pivotally mounted onthe front end of the two extension rails by means of an angle bracket 38pivoted to each of saidrails. It will be appreciated that to render thefootrest usable, it must be rotated counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 2in order to present its upholstered surface at an appropriate angle tothe occupants legs. For this purpose, we have provided the operatinglink 14, preferably in the formof a rod which has a circular section andwhich is housed within the extension rail 10. The rod 14 is providedwith a right angle bend 64 and 66at each end. Extending toward theviewer in FIGS. 1 A and 2, the bend 64 is passed through a suitable holein the footrest bracket 38, and the bend 66 at its rearward end, alsoextending toward the viewer, passes outwardly through a window 68 in theouter side wall of the tubular rail 10 and through a suitable pivot holenear the rearward end of the rock lever 56. Thus, as the extension rail10 is propelled forwardly by the linkage 16, the rotation of the rocklever 56 causes movement of the concealed rod-link 14 rearwardly withinand relative to the rail 10, drawing the footrest bracket 38 rearwardly,or counterclockwise as seen in FIG. 1, to appropriately adjust the angleof the front face of the footrest 12.

Note from FIG. 1 A that the forward end of the rail is also relieved atan angle to provide a stop and support for the bent end 64 of the linkrod when the footrest is laid back in the extended position. Thisrelieves the link rod 14 of any longitudinal compressive force fromdownward load on the footrest, and also assures that the extensionlinkage 16 is likewise free of load from the weight of the occupantsoutstretched legs.

The motion of the rod link 14 at its rearward end is very nearly astraight-line motion and the window 68 in the side wall of the rail istherefore essentially a longitudinal extending slot which may be ofdimension only slightly greater than the diameter of the rod link 14 toprovide necessary clearance. As the forward movement proceeds, the rocklever 56 at the end of the rear drive link 52 rotates sufficiently thatthe rod-link pivot 66 moves across the pivot of the lever 56 to the draglink i 60. The necessary clearance to accommodate this movement at fullextension of the support rail 10 is provided by means of a notch 70 cutinto the lower edge of the drag link 60. I

Further detail of the above-described parts, as we have made them toaccommodate the foregoing move ments, are shown in FIG. 2, augmented bythe several sectional views of FIGS. 3 to 6 inclusive.

The seat bracket 20 in its forward portion is an inverted channel, andin its rearward portion is angleshaped in cross section, having only aninner vertical flange 72 of gradually increasing depth from front torear. This is to provide a convenient point of attachment for therearward portion of a seat-supporting mechanism illustrated in ouraforementioned copending application Ser. No. 374,355 filed June 28,1973, and having been noted for that purpose need not be mentionedfurther.

Secured to the vertical flange 72 of the seat bracket, and extendingfrom its very rearward end forwardly well into the channel-shapedforward portion thereof as well, is the channel-shaped roller guide 50the contacting surfaces of which are V-shaped to receive the beveledguide roller 48 at the back end of the extension rail 10. The roller 48itself is journaled upon a shoulder rivet 74 at the upper end of thebracket 46 which encircles the extreme rearward end of the extensionrail 10 (compare FIGS. 2 and 3). The bracket-46 is staked to the rearend of the rail by a pair of rivets, one of which, the shoulder rivet62, provides the point of connection for the drag link 60 to the rail10. The rail 10 itself is chopped at an angle to reduce its depth toprovide clearance from the base member 28 on the rearward rocking motionof the chair. The roller guide 50 is preferably formed from light gaugesteel and projectionwelded to the inner vertical flange 72 of the seatbracket.

At the forward, channel-shaped end of the seat bracket 20 are mountedthe double support links 42 which support the front fulcrum roller 40.As indicated in the sectional view of FIG. 6, the parallel links 42extend into the inverted channel of the seat bracket, and are journaledon a pivot pin 76 and maintained thereon in spaced relation by an upperroller 78 which is of molded Nylon or the like. Clearance space isoccupied by spacing washers 80, and the side of the journal pin oppositeits head is secured by a self-locking push-on fastener 82 of theTinnerman type. At the lower end of the parallel links 42, the roller40, likewise of molded Nylon, is journaled on the front end 84 of therodshaped control link 44 which extends rearwardly to the seat supportlink 32. The control link is bent at each ends at rightangles to itsshank and in opposite directions, the outer end 84 providing the journalfor the fulcrum roller 40 extending toward the viewer in FIG. 2, andmaintained in assemble relation with the parallel links 42 by means of aCotter key. Its opposite end 86, (FIG. 6) which provides its pivotalconnection to the seat support link 32, is bent away from the viewer,and similarly fastened in assembled relation with that link.

It will be noted from FIG. 6 that both rollers, the lower support orfulcrum roller 40 and the upper spacing roller 78 are flanged not onlyto maintain clearance between the extension rail 10 and the parallelfront suspension links 42 for silent operation, but also-to providelateral stability to the extended footrest.

Moving rearwardly to the operating linkage 16 per se, it will be notedby comparison of FIGS. 2 and 5 that the coordinating cross shaft 18 ispreferably square in cross section to facilitate the rigid mounting ofthe forward drive link 22 thereto. From FIG. 5, it will be noted thatthe cross shaft 18 passes through both flanges of the seat bracket 20,channel-shaped at that point, through an oversize clearance hole 88 inthe inner flange, and snugly through a bushing 90, also of moldedplastic, by means of which the cross shaft 18 is journaled in a suitablyfinished hole in the outer flange of the seat bracket 20. The bushing 90is provided with a conforming square hole to receive the shaft 18, andalso'with an outer flange which serves to space the front drive link 22from the seat bracket 20. To fix the front link 22 firmly to the shaft18 as an arm, its upper end is formed as a channel and pierced toreceive the shaft, with the flanges of the channel flanking the squareshaft 18 on opposite sides. The flanges are suitably pierced, and theshaft end drilled, to receive a keying bolt or drive pin 94.

Moving farther rearwardly to the rear drive link 52 and to a comparisonof FIGS. 2 and 4, it will be noted that the rear drive link 52 ispivoted to the outer flange of the seat bracket 20 by means of ashoulder rivet 96, and is offset immediately outwardly to provide clear-7 ance for the end66 of thelink-rod 14 asthe rear end oftherock lever 56crosses under the drive link 52 and the upper connecting link 54on theextension, and retraction movement. At its lower end, the drive link 52is offsetinwardly.

The rock lever 56.is offset outwardly at the location of its pivotalconnection to the rear drive link 52, so that the two mating offsets ofthe link 52 and lever 56 position the lever fairly close to the outerside wall of the extension rail 10 for convenient pivotal connection at66 to the end of the link rod 14 that passes through the extension railfrom back to front to vary the angle of the footrest. That connection issimilarly maintained by a Cotter key or suitable substitute.

The operationof the extension linkage 16 will best be understood byexamining the series of diagrammatic drawings, FIGS. 7 to 10, inclusive,in which the extension rail 10, the seat bracket 20, and the basebracket 34, are shown asthey actually are, and the extension linkage 16and the front link 32 of the seat-support linkage are represented assingle lines along the axes of those members.

FIG. 7 depicts the footrest l2 and extension linkage 16 in the positionof FIG. 2 to aid in orienting the simplified line drawing of FIG. 7 withits fully illustrated counterpart, FIG. 2. The footrest l2 andassociated extension linkage 16 are shown installed in a chair of therocker recliner type, which is indicated only in outline form toillustrate the location of the footrest mechanism of the invention withrespect to the body of the chair of which it is a part.

As in FIG. 2, the simplified diagrammatic form of the linkage of FIGS. 7to 10. is illustrated as being operated by the hand lever 24 to extendthe footrest l2 and, for

that matter, to retract it as well, although, as will be un-' derstoodby those skilled in this art, the footrest may also be retracted to thestowed position if it is drawn rearwardly by theoccupants heels,. therebeing no locked toggle in the extension linkage 16 tending to resistretraction either by direct application of an inwardly directedhorizontal force to the footrest, or by a torque applied thereto in aclockwise direction as seen in the drawings.

Also, as earlier mentioned, while we contemplate operation of theillustratedform by means of the operating hand lever 24 at the side ofthe chair, conventionally at the occupants right side, and for thispurpose have attached the operating lever 24 to operate the rearwarddrive link 52, we also contemplate operation by other modes, forexample, either a shifting of the seat forward or backward with respectto the chair.

arms and rocker base to'a non-reclined intermediate or TV position, oroperation in some instances by the reclining of the chair back. In suchcase, the extension linkage '16 might well be driven from a differentpoint, forexample, as also previously suggested, by the application of adriving torque to the cross-shaft 18 in any feasible way, such as asuitably positioned arm connected by means of an operating link toanother portion of the chair with respect to which the seat isrelatively movable. i g

In FIG. 7 the footrest is stowed, and thus serves as the front board orfront panel of the chair, being shown in solid outline within the brokenoutline of the chair itself. The operating handle 24 extends diagonallyforwardlywithin the grasp of the occupant of the chair. In arocker-recliner chair, chosen to illustrate the application of theinvention, it will be understood that it is conventional to lock orblock the rocker base as an incident to the extension of the leg rest.This may be achieved by a number of blocking mechanisms (not shown)which may for example, be folded legs extended for the purpose, or maybe an improved selective rocker-recliner lock of our own developmentillustrated, described, and claimed in our co-pending application Ser.No. 374,356, filed June 28, 1973. However, inasmuch as the footrestextension mechanism here illustrated and claimed is equally usable inchairs of the non-rocking type, we have omitted illustration of therocker blocking mechanism as not specifically relevant to the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 shows the footrest advanced to an intermediate position. It isnot intended as a use position but merely to illustrate the movement ofthe respective parts of the linkage 16 in thetravel of the footrest 12from its stowed to its fully extended position.

FIG. 9 shows the footrest 12 fully extended and cocked to a comfortableleg supporting angle by the rearward draw of the retracting link-rod I4housed within the tubular extension rails 10. It should be noticed thatthe very substantial forward linear movement of the footrest on itsextension rails is achieved through the multiplied throw of the rocklever 56 mounted at the lower end of the drive link 52, and rotatedthereon by the lower restraining link 58. This multiplication resultsfrom the differential rotation of the two drive links 52 and 22, due inturn to the differences of the swing radii of the pivot points of theconnecting link 54 with respect to the pivot axes of the two drivelinks, and also from the differential forward movement of the outer endsof the drive links 52 and 22 due to their unequal lengths. By thisdevice, the rock lever 56 is rotated rapidly relative to the seatbracket 20, and to the extension rail 10, through an arc ofapproximately 150 in the course of the entire extension movement,whereas, for example, the forward drive link 22 rotates only throughapproximately In any event, the rock lever 56, notwithstanding theforward movement of its pivotal attachment to the drive link 52, movesrapidly forward to extend the footrest 12.

In reclining chairs having an intermediate so-called TV position, i.e.,with leg rest extended but without appreciable recline of the back, andhaving as well as a range of positions of further recline, we have foundthat the angularity of the footrest comfortable and suitable in theso-called TV position is not necessarily comfortable in positions offurther recline, as, for example, when the back of the chair is fullyreclined for sleeping purposes. In such instance, as the legs or feetare supported high without commensurate elevation of the front of theseat, the supporting pressure of the footrest upon the legs tends toimpair circulation of the blood to the lower legs and feet, resulting inthe numbness commonly described as having ones feet go to sleep.

To overcome that difficulty, we have made provision in our improvedfootrest mechanism for a further adjustment of the angularity of thefootrest relative to the seat when the back of the chair is reclined-Aswill be evident from comparison of FIGS. 9 and 10, (the extensionlinkage 16 per se has been omitted from FIG. 10 for clarity) thisfurther angular adjustment which increases the permissible knee flexureof the occupant is accomplished by the drawing the forward fulcrumroller 40 rearwardly and downwardly, this being convenientlyaccomplished by the rod link 44 connected between the suspension links42 for the fulcrum roller 40 and the front support link 32 of the seatof the chair.

The forward location of the seat support link 32 and itsmovement-relative to the seat upon the reclining of the back of thechair, make it a logical operator for the retraction of the fulcrumroller 40 to drop the footrest 12 in FIG. 10 from the dotted lineposition to the solid line position. As will be readily understood,however, by those skilled in the art of recliner-chair linkages, aslight retraction or a lowering of the fulcrum roller 40 might also bereadily achieved by a connection to any of several link members movablerelative to the seat upon recline of the back.

By our improved footrest mechanism .herein illustrated and described, wehave achieved a very considerable extension movement of the footrest 12without the use of exposed lazy-tong linkages, and, by so doing, we haveeliminated not only the danger, instability, and wear problemsassociated with linkages of that kind, we have added to the stability ofthe footrest 11-2 and greatly improved the appearance of the chair byreducing the footrest support to a pair of attractive yet simple andstrong functional rails or beams in which the only operating linkextending forward to the footrest proper is hidden from view as well asbeing removed as a source of danger to crawling children or householdpets by being totally enclosed within the extension rails.

Not only is there no scissors relationship between any of the exposedportions of the mechanism, but, in further contrast to scissors footrestsupport linkages, the weight load on our footrest is carried by therails 10, and not by the extension linkage 16, as a result of which ourextension linkage members are greatly relieved of wear.

Moreover, the further adjustment of the angularity of the footrest 12occasioned by the retraction of the forward fulcrum roller 40 upon therecline of the chair is a significant addition to the comfort of theoccupant by providing better distribution of the weight of the legsbetween the seat and the footrest proper, in order to prevent impairmentof circulation to the lower limbs during extended periods of occupancywhile sleeping.

The features of the invention believed new and patentable are set forthin the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A footrest extension'mechanism for a reclining chair comprising afootrest pivoted to the ends of a pair of parallel rails supported onthe chair for essentially endwise movement forwardly andrearwardly ofthe chair for extending and retracting the footrest, drive meansconnected to said rails to cause said movement, and means connected tosaid footrest to alter the angularity of the footrest relative to saidrails as an incident to said endwise movement between a retractedposition with its supporting surface in the front plane of the chair anda forward position facing upwardly to support the occupants legs, saidangularity-altering means being operable as aforesaid by connection witha portion of the chair with respect to which said rails are movable uponextension of the footrest to said forward position and being alsothereby movable relative to said rails, said rails being shaped toprovide protective masking of said angularity-altering means duringmovement thereof relative to said rails.

2. The mechanism of claim 1 wherein said rails are tubular and saidangularity-altering means is a link enclosed within and movablelongitudinally of at least one of said rails.

3. The mechanism of claim 1 wherein the downward load of the weight ofthe occupants legs upon said footrest when extended is borne by saidrails substantially independently of said drive means and saidangularityaltering means.

4. The mechanism of claim 1 in accordance with claim 2 wherein said linkmeans is connected to said drive means, and the downward load of theweight of the legs of the occupant upon said footrest when extended isborne by said rails substantially independently of said drive means andsaid link means, but wherein a torque applied to said extended footrestby flexure of the occupants knees will operate said drive and link meansin reverse and retract the footrest.

5. In a footrest extension mechanism for a reclining chair in which thefootrest-is supported on the ends of a pair of parallel rails supportedfor endwise movement forwardly and rearwardly of the chair for extendingand retracting the footrest, the improvement which comprises a motionmultiplying drive linkage for each of said rails for moving the sameforwardly and rearwardly, said linkage including a drive link pivoted tothe chair for movement of one of its ends forward and back relative tothe chair, a rock lever pivoted medially thereof to said drive link andhaving one of its ends restrained relative to its medial pivot andhaving its length apportioned relative to said medial pivot to move itsend opposite said restrained end forwardly and rearwardly of the chairat a faster rate than the rate of movement of said drive link, and meansconnecting said rock lever to its associated rail to propel the sameupon movement of said drive link;

means connecting said linkages for unison movement; and

means for applying a driving effort to said drive link to rotate thesame to extend said footrest.

6-. The improvement of claim 5 wherein the footrest when retracted hasits supporting surface in the front plane of the chair, wherein thesupport of the footrest upon said rails is a pivotal support and whereinsaid footrest is connected by link means to the rock lever of at leastone of said drive linkages to rotate the footrest on its pivots to turnits supporting surface upwardly as the footrest is extended.

7. The improvement of claim 5 in accordance with claim 6, and whereinsaid rails are tubular and said link means connecting said footrest androck lever is housed within the tubular rail.

8. The improvement of claim 5 wherein said linkage also includes asecond drive link, a connecting link pivoted to both of said drive linksto cause them to rotate in unison, and a restraining link pivoted tosaid second drive link and to said one end of said rock lever torestrain the same and thereby to multiply the throw of the end of saidrock lever connected to propel said associated rail.

9. The improvement of claim 5 in accordance with claim 8 wherein bothrails and both drive linkages are supported on the underside of thechair seat adjacent the sides thereof and the means connecting saidlinkages for unison movement is a cross shaft extending 1 1 fromside toside-of its-chair beneath theseat between and secured to correspondingones of said drive links.

10. In a reclining chair, a footrest mounted upon the ends of a pair ofparallel rails, means for supporting said rails for endwise movement onthe chair to extend the footrest from a stowed position on the chairbody to a forward leg-supporting position, said supporting means guidingthe rearward ends of the rails in a predetermined path and including atthe front of the chair a bearing fulcrum engaging the rails to providethe forward support for said rails as the same move forward and backrelative to said fulcrum to extend and retract the footrest, saidfulcrum being supported on the chair for movement as an incident toreclining movement of the chair to lower the footrest relative to thefront of the chair seat as the chair reclines.

11. A chair in accordance with claim in which said bearing fulcrum atthe front of the chair comprises a roller'supporting an undersurface ofeach rail, and the footrest is lowered by shifting the roller axis bythe relative movement of the chair parts in the reclining movement.

12. A chair in accordance with claim 11 wherein each rail is supportedby its own fulcrum roller which in turn is supported on the chair by ashiftable link connected by yet another link to one of the chair partsmovable relative to the swing axis of said shiftable roller-support linkby the reclining movement of the chair.

13. A chair in accordance with claim 10 wherein said supporting meansare separately provided for each rail and are secured to the chair seat,each said supporting means also comprising a guide track secured to theseat and a roller mounted at the rear of each rail and confined in saidtrack, said bearing fulcrum comprising a flanged roller journalled onlink means suspended from the forward portion of the seat, said linkmeans also having a flanged guide roller journalled thereon above saidrail, the flanges of said rollers engaging the rails to provide lateralstability thereto during said endwise movement and when extended, saidsuspension link means normally extending forwardly as well as downwardlyfrom the seat, and an adjusting link connecting said suspension linkmeans to a portion of the chair movable relative to the seat and drawingsaid suspension link means rearwardly upon recline of the seat to lowerthe footrest as aforesaid.

14. A chair in accordance with claim 13 wherein said suspension linkmeans is a pair of links flanking the fulcrum roller and upper guideroller, the chair seat upon recline of the back is movable forwardly andupwardly relative to the chair base by an overslung link pivoted betweenthe base and the seat, and wherein said connecting link is connectedbetween said roller-flanking suspension links and said overslung seatsupport link. a:

1. A footrest extension mechanism for a reclining chair comprising afootrest pivoted to the ends of a pair of parallel rails supported onthe chair for essentially endwise movement forwardly and rearwardly ofthe chair for extending and retracting the footrest, drive meansconnected to said rails to cause said movement, and means connected tosaid footrest to alter the angularity of the footrest relative to saidrails as an incident to said endwise movement between a retractedposition with its supporting surface in the front plane of the chair anda forward position facing upwardly to support the occupant''s legs, saidangularity-altering means being operable as aforesaid by connection witha portion of the chair with respect to which said rails are movable uponextension of the footrest to said forward position and being alsothereby movable relative to said rails, said rails being shaped toprovide protective masking of said angularity-altering means duringmovement thereof relative to said rails.
 2. The mechanism of claim 1wherein said rails are tubular and said angularity-altering means is alink enclosed within and movable longitudinally of at least one of saidrails.
 3. The mechanism of claim 1 wherein the downward load of theweight of the occupant''s legs upon said footrest when extended is borneby said rails substantially independently of said drive means and saidangularity-altering means.
 4. The mechanism of claim 1 in accordancewith claim 2 wherein said link means is connected to said drive means,and the downward load of the weight of the legs of the occupant uponsaid footrest when extended is borne by said rails substantiallyindependently of said drive means and said link means, but wherein atorque applied to said extended footrest by flexure of the occupant''sknees will operate said drive and link means in reverse and retract thefootrest.
 5. In a footrest extension mechanism for a reclining chair inwhich the footrest is supported on the ends of a pair of parallel railssupported for endwise movement forwardly and rearwardly of the chair forextending and retracting the footrest, the improvement which comprises amotion multiplying drive linkage for each of said rails for moving thesame forwardly and rearwardly, said linkage including a drive linkpivoted to the chair for movement of one of its ends forward and backrelative to the chair, a rock lever pivoted medially thereof to saiddrive link and having one of its ends restrained relative to its medialpivot and having its length apportioned relative to said medial pivot tomove its end opposite said restrained end forwardly and rearwardly ofthe chair at a faster rate than the rate of movement of said drive link,and means connecting said rock lever to its associated rail to propelthe same upon movement of said drive link; means connecting saidlinkages for unison movement; and means for applying a driving effort tosaid drive link to rotate the same to extend said footrest.
 6. Theimprovement of claim 5 wherein the footrest when retracted has itssupporting surface in the front plane of the chair, wherein the supportof the footrest upon said rails is a pivotal support and wherein saidfootrest is connected by link means to the rock lever of at least one ofsaid drive linkages to rotate the footrest on its pivots to turn itssupporting surface upwardly as the footrest is extended.
 7. Theimprovement of claim 5 in accordance with claim 6, and wherein saidrails are tubular and said link means connecting said footrest and rocklever is housed within the tubular rail.
 8. The improvement of claim 5wherein said linkage also includes a second drive link, a connectinglink pivoted to both of said drive links to cause them to rotate inunison, and a restraining link pivoted to said second drive link and tosaid one end of said rock lever to restrain the same and thereby tomultiply the throw of the end of said rock lever connected to propelsaid associAted rail.
 9. The improvement of claim 5 in accordance withclaim 8 wherein both rails and both drive linkages are supported on theunderside of the chair seat adjacent the sides thereof and the meansconnecting said linkages for unison movement is a cross shaft extendingfrom side to side of its chair beneath the seat between and secured tocorresponding ones of said drive links.
 10. In a reclining chair, afootrest mounted upon the ends of a pair of parallel rails, means forsupporting said rails for endwise movement on the chair to extend thefootrest from a stowed position on the chair body to a forwardleg-supporting position, said supporting means guiding the rearward endsof the rails in a predetermined path and including at the front of thechair a bearing fulcrum engaging the rails to provide the forwardsupport for said rails as the same move forward and back relative tosaid fulcrum to extend and retract the footrest, said fulcrum beingsupported on the chair for movement as an incident to reclining movementof the chair to lower the footrest relative to the front of the chairseat as the chair reclines.
 11. A chair in accordance with claim 10 inwhich said bearing fulcrum at the front of the chair comprises a rollersupporting an undersurface of each rail, and the footrest is lowered byshifting the roller axis by the relative movement of the chair parts inthe reclining movement.
 12. A chair in accordance with claim 11 whereineach rail is supported by its own fulcrum roller which in turn issupported on the chair by a shiftable link connected by yet another linkto one of the chair parts movable relative to the swing axis of saidshiftable roller-support link by the reclining movement of the chair.13. A chair in accordance with claim 10 wherein said supporting meansare separately provided for each rail and are secured to the chair seat,each said supporting means also comprising a guide track secured to theseat and a roller mounted at the rear of each rail and confined in saidtrack, said bearing fulcrum comprising a flanged roller journalled onlink means suspended from the forward portion of the seat, said linkmeans also having a flanged guide roller journalled thereon above saidrail, the flanges of said rollers engaging the rails to provide lateralstability thereto during said endwise movement and when extended, saidsuspension link means normally extending forwardly as well as downwardlyfrom the seat, and an adjusting link connecting said suspension linkmeans to a portion of the chair movable relative to the seat and drawingsaid suspension link means rearwardly upon recline of the seat to lowerthe footrest as aforesaid.
 14. A chair in accordance with claim 13wherein said suspension link means is a pair of links flanking thefulcrum roller and upper guide roller, the chair seat upon recline ofthe back is movable forwardly and upwardly relative to the chair base byan overslung link pivoted between the base and the seat, and whereinsaid connecting link is connected between said roller-flankingsuspension links and said overslung seat support link.